Describe a person who can speak a second language.
You should say:
- who this person is
- what language this person can speak
- how often this person uses this language
and explain why this person has learned a second language.
Model Answer 1:
In fact, I know many people who can speak a second language. Just after I looked at this Cue Card topic, their names and faces came to my mind. However, for this cue card topic, I would like to talk about my uncle, Joseph, who can speak English very fluently. English is the second language in our country and many of us can speak it quite fluently. However, my uncle Joseph was graduated from the London University and stayed in London for more than 7 years. After he came back to his motherland, he went into the teaching profession. These days he teaches history in a college.
Joseph is 2 years younger than my father and I know him from my childhood. He is around 40 years old now and stays near our house. He is a doting father of 3 children and a devoted teacher who is loved by his students. He has a good and natural accent and a pleasant speaking style that give a soothing feeling when I listen him speak. He has a great way of teaching and I often took his advice regarding my studies. Whenever I had any complex grammatical issue, he was the person I turned into for the help. He could explain things like a magician!
Apart from his mother tongue, he can speak English very fluently and I heard that he can also speak Spanish, Hindi and French. I have seen him speak with many American and British teachers and it seemed to me that he speaks very naturally with them. I guess he has to speak English every day at the college he teaches in has got many foreign students and teachers. He needs to deliver his lectures in English as well. I sometimes speak English with him and I am no match for his fluency, academic knowledge and experience.
Learning a second language is a must in our school curriculum. So everybody has to learn a second language in our country. In most of the colleges and universities in our country, the lectures, exams and academic books are in English. My uncle must have learned this second language as part of his academic study. However, his study in a university in the UK and his 7 years staying in this country must have improved his knowledge and language fluency to a great extent. The other foreign languages that he can read and speak must have been the result of his personal interests and he must have learned them due to his stay in different countries.
Sample Answer 2:
My dad, Astor Beaman is a French in nationality but he is fluent is a second language. He can speak and write Spanish fluently. In fact, he has learnt the second language for necessity. His office requires a second language skill.
My dad is a man of letters and has a high degree in international affairs from a reputed university here in France. He looks smart with his tall figure and dark blue eyes. He got married to mum in his university days. Like all others, his early days were filled with thorns. After lots of struggle, he managed to get a job at an international organisation. With his hard efforts and sincerity, he is now an established manager of the organisation. He is to deal with a large number of issues and frequently needs to apply his second language skills.
Dad can speak the Spanish language like the native Spanish people. He learnt the language at a language club. Actually, as part of his career, he wanted to learn some other language. He is quite skilled in English. But he wanted to learn something more that he could use in his regular life. So, he moved for Spanish. Fortunately, he got the job at the organisation which is based in Spain. They had been seeking a suitable candidate to run the activities in France. But by the same time they wanted someone who possesses a command over the language. It was necessary as most of the activities were based on dealing with the Spanish clients and producers. So, if the knowledge of Spanish is poor, the candidate will be unable to handle the entire responsibilities. Luckily, everything matched with dad and he got the job.
He needs to speak and write in Spanish in his office as most of the staffs are from Spain. They are unable to understand English let alone French. So, he needs to communicate with them in the language round the day. Besides, sometimes he also needs to communicate with the headquarter of the organisation he is working with. He needs to speak Spanish with his superior officials in Spain. Drafting letters, issuing orders and many other tasks require his second language skills. But when he is at home, he speaks French with us. In fact, I have never seen him use the language at home. I went to meet him at his office and came to know about his use of the second language. Also, I was amazed at his skills of using the language in the appropriate places.
My dad has learned the language based on his necessity. He understood the importance of the second language and accordingly took the decision to learn it. It took nearly two years for him to learn the language. He attended the language class on the weekends. Besides, he practised the language with some of his classmates at home. He also practised writing in the language a lot. After lots of struggles and challenges, he had completed the course. Now he is enjoying the benefits of his struggle in the past. I think the decision was wise to learn the language. Interestingly, he picked the language randomly and luckily he got the chance to apply the knowledge in his real life. Considering the future aspects, I think he learnt the language by his own initiative.